Drifting (1940-1949)

British Instructional Films presentation. Graphic map of England showing the main ports used by drifters. Shot of boats in harbour - we are not told which one of the ports labelled it is. Fishermen at work on the quay side and on their boats. The boats set sail. C/U of rope being untied. Boats leave the port. Man at the helm of boat smokes a cigarette. Shots of the boats at sea. Machinery is attached to the sides of the ship. C/U of funnel. C/U of wheel spinning at the back of the boat. Fishing grounds. Man looks out of boat window. C/U of the ship controls - telegraph. Men throw nets over the side of the boat. Buoys are thrown over the side. View from the prow of the ship of the buoys floating on the water. Animation of fishing boat and its nets to show the drifting process. A sail is hoisted. Clock shows 8.20pm. Man sits on side of boat and smokes as the sun goes down. Man with a tattooed arm sleeps in his bunk. Another animation shows the fish swimming towards the net. Zooms in to show herrings getting caught in the net and wriggling around to try and escape. Clock shows 12.55. Men climb out of bunks and on to the deck. Hauling the nets in takes about 5 hours. Animation of the process. Men pull nets in, they shake the nets so that the fish fall out. C/Us of the net as it comes out of the water. The boat is called the "Silver Dahn". The fish are unloaded for the early market. The fish are scooped up from the deck and put into wicker baskets. These are then carried by a winch to the quay side. C/U of basket full of fish. Seagulls pick up a few stray fish. Note: separate optical soundtrack. Lerwick, Yarmouth and Lowestoft are mentioned. FILM ID:2883.06 FOR LICENSING ENQUIRIES VISIT http://www.britishpathe.com/